Those L85s are easily equal, if not better to offerings already out there. Great job with them 
2 Likes
Someone suggested printing out the exhaust flap separately to adjust the position to their liking so I have separated them in CAD:
Easily done (took 30 seconds) in CAD and can be printed as shown if you prefer.
Kind regards,
James
2 Likes
OK, CAD done - will make shorter versions after testing. Leaving some space between links so it will be a swingable chain instead of static after printing. We’ll see… Test 3D printing with some ABS-like resin (to be less brittle than the existing offerings) soon:
Reference photo used
Yeah, I am cranking these out like there’s no tomorrow. 
4 Likes
Hello fellow modelers,
So the plan is to sell a total of 120 ball chains in a set for 10 USD before shipping:
Meaning: 20 of 7 chain links:
30 of 6 chain links:
30 of 5 chain links:
20 of 4 chain links:
and 20 of 3 chain links:
Possibly be more than enough for one Merkava 3 or 4, and may cover two Merkava 1 or 2s? What do you think?
Kind regards,
James
4 Likes
I printed 120+ Merkava ball chain armors in 1/35 tonight, and I need to go back to the drawing board to achieve better spacing and maybe the swingable chains. These are still useable (personally) but not ready for sales.
I overestimated the detail my printer can handle in terms of small spaces. The middle spaces/holes were solid between chain links.
Next to Meng’s offering in plastic (Merkava 4 LIC with Nochri-Kal mine roller).
What I’ll do - decrease the thickness of the chain link to provide more space in between and increase the space/hole size. The swing-ability may not be possible but at least it will look more realistic with more spacing.
4 Likes
A few other things I am planning to 3D print:
The Phalanx CIWS
USMC Expeditionary Fire Support System (EFSS) M327 120mm mortar.
These CADs need some TLC to make them more detailed, accurate, and 3D printing friendly.
Mortar and ammo trailer combo
Towed position:
Ammo trailer only:
USMC M1161 Growler ITV mortar carrier:
ITV ammo transporter:
Some reference photos:
5 Likes
A Growler in 1/48 would work great for displaying with a V-22 or CH-53E.
1 Like
Also can C-ration or MRE anyone?
“MRE Sealed Package” (MRE Sealed Package - Download Free 3D model by Mateusz Woliński (@jeandiz) [1f29140] - Sketchfab) by Mateusz Woliński is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International — CC BY 4.0).
“Canned fish-Freepoly.org” (Canned fish-Freepoly.org - Download Free 3D model by Freepoly.org (@blackrray) [9ab6fcb] - Sketchfab) by blackrray is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International — CC BY 4.0).
Reference photo
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I’ve never seen an MRE that looks like that. Current issue ones look like below.
6 Likes
Yeah, the artist took some liberty in putting some strap on it. I’ll revise the CAD later to make it more accurate.
just curious but can you do slat armor? ive been wanting to scratchbuild/convert a brdm2 to an isis vehicle, would love if someone just made a shhet of slat armor that i could custom cut.
Hi John,
Can you post some reference photos to see if they’re doable?
Usually, slat armors are too thin to print (unless slightly oversized) in 3D realistically (for 1/35 scale) - either they’ll fail to print or are prone to warping during UV curing process.
Kind regards,
James
Like I said, a bad candidate for 3D printing due to thinness, difficulty in removing the supports w/out breaking the actual 3D printed parts, and risk of warping.
Doable if a bit oversized and thickened. Due to the complexity and thinness, it will take many hours to CAD it and potentially multiple tries. The final product is not going to be cheap and would require precise dimensions in 1/35 to pull it off.
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I am a novice at 3d printing that’s why I asked , I simply hate working with photoetch! Oh well maybe someday….I’m almost done with my list for the order I’ll hit you up via Gmail, as always my thanks for your time and consideration!
John,
I did a rough CAD of slat armor in my program, and it wasn’t too hard but the question would be how well these will print w/out warping and breaking in 1/35:
OK, folks, this is money! I was able to print thin slat armor successfully in 1/35.
Comparing to the kit plastic parts in Trumpeter’s Challenger 2 enhanced armor kit, the thinness is very obvious and incredible. My 3D printer again impressed me.
Comparison:
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That’s pretty impressive for printed slat.
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Thanks John. Hopefully, some customers soon.
Kind regards,
James